Who's your favorite 'Big Bad'?

Angelus/Spike/Dru - the dynamic between those three made them the most interesting of the villains. The tableau Angelus set up for Giles, the roses, music and champagne - and then dead Jenny in his bed - quite possible the worst thing and villain did.

I'd say Willow is the big bad of season 6 - and I really like to see her arc from using black magic to bring back Buffy to getting swallowed by the magic she tried to control.

GILES
(almost yelling) If I had been I'd have bloody well stopped you! The Magicks you channeled are more primal and ferocious than you can hope to understand, and you're lucky to be alive, you rank, arrogant amateur.

Beat. Giles is done. Willow flatlines, total calm, staring into his eyes. Then:


WILLOW
You're right. The Magicks I used are incredibly powerful. I'm incredibly powerful.
(beat)
And maybe it's not such a good idea for you to piss me off.

That is Willow with a buttload of dark magic starting to brew.
 
I used to define "Big Bad" either with Spike, since he liked to call himself like that, or with the main threat/antagonist of the entire season, or the majority of said season. That excludes Adam, Faith and Willow and in extend even Warren and the Trio. In my opinion, do S4 & 6 not have a "Big Bad" in form of an individuum, who's planning throughout the season their deaths, defeat or the end of the world. They show the evil in human nature as well as in life, fate and circumstances etc. Willow and Faith both didn't plan to do what they did. At no time, I would call them evil, only lost and about to do something evil or having done something evil. Adam was created by humans. He was neither good nor evil and present in insufficient episodes.

My order:

1. Angelus
2. Life, human nature. If an individuum, then Warren
3. Glory
4. Wilkins
5. The Initiative, human nature. If an individuum, then Professor Walsh.
6. The First Evil
7. The Master
 
DoktorRock said:
I used to define "Big Bad" either with Spike, since he liked to call himself like that, or with the main threat/antagonist of the entire season, or the majority of said season
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By that standard, Angelus is not a big bad, though. It was a set of choices - needs fulfilled - that both characters knew were wrong which created Angelus (or brought forth Angelus).

I see Willow - dark!Willow who tried to kill everyone and destroy the world - as something like Angelus. There were hints and warnings all along - but she made her choices. Had Willow not been wanting to use dark magics since season 2 - had she not become a necromancer - then she wouldn't have had the power to almost destroy the world.
 
I'm liking D'Hoffryn in the comics, mostly because I like that he faked being an ally
 
bespangeled said:
I see Willow - dark!Willow who tried to kill everyone and destroy the world - as something like Angelus. There were hints and warnings all along - but she made her choices. Had Willow not been wanting to use dark magics since season 2 - had she not become a necromancer - then she wouldn't have had the power to almost destroy the world.
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Ouch! To compare someone who murdered, raped, tormented minds and bodies and had fun at it over 150 years by being fully aware of his actions at any time to a girl who did her misdeeds mostly out of selfhood and insecurities, later out of grief, shock and intoxication, is a bit far-fetched. It's not like every of Angelus' victims had killed his girlfriend.

You're right though with the hints and warnings as well as being responsible for your own actions. I'm all for it. It's one element which makes Willow to my favorite character. I simply love her <3 <3 - Ahem, I digress...

That is just one side of the coin, though. We're also the result of our immediate environment, society, upbringing, circumstances and the choices other individuums had made. When I look at Willow, I don't just see a selfish and stubborn girl who refused to listen and screwed up in a major way. I do see that part too, really, because it's true. And I believe Willow knows that as well. But I also see an experienced adult, with the necessary knowledge, mostly ignoring her obvious talent and potential for instance. For a minor girl, who's never done a serious spell before, to successfully restore a soul (supposed to be a very powerful curse btw) after just having woken up from a coma while suffering from a severe head injury and being in general weakened is such a broad hint, it isn't even funny. I see several warning signals throughout the series which were ignored, especially from Giles. I also see circumstances which encouraged her use of magic or even pressed her into using them when the others relied on her because Buffy was unavailable. I see a girlfriend, who was displayed as being adept in ethics, not seeing that she, as Willow's lover, might not be the best choice as her teacher. I see parents who obviously neglected her, most likely the root cause of her craving for affection and approval. That doesn't excuse her actions, but it explains them and must be considered to make a final judgement. That applies to the other characters as well, of course.

I agree that Angelus isn't present for the majority of the season. I didn't count the episodes, my failure. I'm adding Spike & Drusilla then because Angelus is just my favorite of the wicked, he simply deserves a place in my ranking.😀
 
Yeah - Giles should have trained her or never used her. He did neither, even though he knew what could happen from his own experience raising demons at that same age. For some reason he assumed that telling her the things teachers warned him about - that he completely ignored - would do the trick.

Oh, and I meant Angelus as the season 2 big-bad, not his entire history.
 
bespangeled said:
Oh, and I meant Angelus as the season 2 big-bad, not his entire history.
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Ah okay. You meant it in the sense that both tried to end the world and were kind of, to use Gamer speech, the "boss" of the "end level". Yeah, that's accurate, of course. 🙂
 
1. Angelus: This villain gets to me because he's kind of sexier as a complete sicko, so I can imagine myself in Buffy's shoes and if I can't make him love me again then I'll just completely surrender and let him mess me up anyway he likes. And then I admire Buffy for not doing that, and all those great nut-busting, rocket-launching, sword-catching scenes.

2. Glory: Like Angelus, an antagonist who leads to these situations where we see the best of Buffy. They all do I guess, but these two especially. Ridiculous and hilarious, but can still manage to seem intimidating.

3. The Master: Something awfully Palm Springs about this character in my view. Has the same sense of humor as a lot of old queens I know and a lot of the old queens I know remind me of vampires. I can imagine the Master owning little white dogs and quoting Bette Davis movies.

4. The Mayor: I always felt he had the humor down, but couldn't go between that and menacing the way a villain like Glory could. My least favorite of my favorites.

5. Adam: I don't dislike this villain, but can't think of anything positive to say either.

6. The Trio: Whatever. I think plot-wise Season Six is pretty strong, I just find it to be poorly told and can't get excited about anything other than the musical. Andrew is supposed to be an annoying character, but I wish the actor could have been a little less Method or something. Not a good addition to the show IMHO.

7. The First: Never even seemed that evil to me, and while the character is called The First and not The Most, I still felt ripped off. If we saw more Caleb over the course of the season he would probably be up there with Angelus and Glory.
 
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